Shoe-sewing and seam-finishing machine



N0. 6I6,3|5. Patented Dec. 20, I898. J. B. HADAWAY.

SHOE SEWING AND SEANI FINISHING MACHINE.

(Application filed Feb. 5, 1897.)

(No Model.)

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U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. HADAWAY, or BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOE-SEWING AND SEAM-FINlSHlNG MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No; 616,315 dated December20, 1898. Application filed February 5, 1897. Serial No. 622,087. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN B. HADAWAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brockton, in the county .of. Plymouth and State ofMassachusetts,- have invented certain new and useful Improvements in aCombined Shoe- Sewing and Seam-Finishing Machine; and I.

do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appert-ains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to combined shoe-sewin g andseam=finisl1ing machin'es,and more particularly to such machines whereinthe seam-finishing tool or device will automatically locate theintervals between the stitches during the formation of the stitches inthe work.

Prior to the present invention it has been proposed to combine with ashoe-sewing machine a tool to separate and indent the intervals betweenthe stitches; but such separat ing-tool has been generally so arrangedthat its movements were in mixed vertical plane with reference to thestitch-forming mechanism, and it has been found in practice that whenstitches of varying or unequal length occur in the seam, saidseparating-tool, being movable in a fixed plane and positioned toseparate stitches of equal length only, would, when a variation in thelength of one or more stitches in a seam occurred, come into contactwith the crown of a stitch instead of in the interval between twostitches andwould tend to out said stitch and otherwise damage and marthe appearance of the finshed seam.

The object of the present invention is to obviate the difficulty abovenoted and to produce a combined sewing and stitch-separating or stitchseparating and indenting machine in which the intervals between thestitches shall be automatically located and separated or separated andindented, whether said stitches be of uniform or varying length.

To the above end the present invention consists of a shoe-sewin g andseam-finishing machine comprising stitch-forming devices and aseam-finishing tool, the seam-finishing tool constructed and arranged tohave a lateral movement relative to the stitch-forming devices toautomatically locate the intervals between the stitches, whether saidstitches be of uniform or varying lengths; and it further consists ofthe devices and combination of devices, which will be hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 illustrates a front elevation of a machine embodying theinvention. Fig. 2 is adetail front view of the lower part of the awl barand the seam-finishing tool. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the partsin side elevation. Fig. 4 is a similar View showing the back of thedevices. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the lower part of thetool-carrying bar. Fig. 6 is a side view of the lower part of thetool-carrying bar. Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively front and side viewsof the seam-finishing tool removed from the bar. Figs. 9, 10, and 11 arerespectively front, back, and side views of the spring con-trolling thetool. Figs. 12 and 13 are views illustrating the operation of the devicein different normal positions.

As illustrated in the drawings, for convenience I have shown myinvention as combined with the shoe-sewing machine and as operated bythe mechanism such as is disclosed in patent to Cobb, No.-421,095,issued February 11, 1890; but such machine has been selected for thepurposes of illustration only, and any other convenient form ofshoe-sewing mechanism or tool-actuating mechanism may be substitutedtherefor, as my present invention does not relate in any manner to thespecific shoe-sewing mechanism or to the specific mechanism foractuating the tool, but consists, broadly, as before stated, incombining with a shoe-sewing mechanism a, seam-finishing tool which willautomatically locate and separate or separate and indent.

the intervals between the stitches, whether said stitches be of uniformor varying length.

The arm A to actuate the awl-bar, the presser-bar B, the presser-foot B,the throatplate 13*, the awl-bar a, awl a, the tool-carrying bar I), thefeeding mechanism, and the means for actuating them may be of anysuitable form and arrangement, conveniently of the form and arrangementas in the patent ICG) hereinbefore referred to, and a detaileddescription of such parts herein is deemed unnecessary.

Secured to the lower end of the tool-bar b is a seam-finishing tool Z),it being preferably loosely mounted upon a screw or stud b in suchmanner that it may be free to move toward or from the vertical plane inwhich the awl ct reciprocates.

It is a common occurrence in the operation of shoe-sewing machines tohave the feed mechanism of such machines impart a variable feed to thework, so that the stitches in a single seam are of varying length, andin the machine of the patent herein referred to the indenting-tool wasfixed against lateral movement and moved in a fixed vertical plane withreference to the awl, and should the stitches formed by the machine varyin length the tool would in its descent strike and indent the crown of astitch, resulting in an imperfectly-finish ed seam. To allow theseam-finishing tool to automatically adjust or accommodate itself tostitches of varying length and to seek and locate its point in theintervals between such stitches as said stitches are formed by thestitch-forming devices in the machine of the drawings, the working endof the seam-finishing tool I) is permitted to have a movement toward andaway from the awl a whenever the end of said tool meets an obstruction,such as the shoulder of a stitch, tending to exert a lateral pressurethereon. In the machine of the drawings this is accomplished, as beforesuggested, by loosely pivoting said tool 1) upon a stud b carried by thetool-bar b, so that the working end thereof is free to move laterallytoward and from the plane of movement of the awl or other part of thestitchforming devices.

In the machine of the drawings the seamfinishing tool I) is normallyretainedto reciprocate in a fixed vertical plane and returned to saidnormal position by a suitable spring, such as the spring 0, which isconnected to the tool 12 preferably at the rear face of said tool, asshown in the drawings, the upper end of said spring being suitablyconnected to the lower end of the tool-bar b. The arrangement describedis such that should the point of the tool I) in its movement toward thestitches come into contact with the shoulder of a stitch it will movelaterally to one side or the other around the pivot 19 and slip off theshoulder of the stitch into the interval between said stitch and thenext adjacent stitch and locate such interval, and upon the movement ofsaid tool away from the stitches the spring 0 will immediately returnsaid tool to its normal position.

In order that the tool may be adjusted relatively to the stitch-formin gdevices to accommodate itself to the adjustment of said stitchformingdevices for forming long or short stitches and also to change the planeof reciprocation of the working end of said tool to cause it to act uponthe seam at different points relatively to said stitch-forming devices,either to act upon the interval between two completed stitches, as shownin Fig. 13, or between a completed and a partially-formed stitch, asshown in Fig. 12, the connection between the spring 0, tool I), androd 1) is preferably as follows: As shown in Figs. 9, 10, and 11, thespring a has at its lower end an ear 0, provided with an eye 0 throughwhich a clamping-screw 0 passes to adjustably clamp said spring to thetool b, the upper end of said spring being provided with an arm 0preferably elliptical in cross-section or rounded at its upper and loweredges, as shown, said arm 0 engaging a slot 0 in the end of the tool-barb.

By the arrangement above described the tool Z) may be adjust-ed for longor short stitches, or to normally position its working end withreference to the stitch-forming devices to locate the interval between acompleted and a partially-formed stitch or the interval between the lasttwo completed stitches, as desired, by loosening the screw 0 whichclamps the ear 0 of the spring 0 to the tool I), releasing said springand permitting the working end of'said tool to be moved laterally towardor from the stitch-forming devices, the rounded arm 0 of the spring 0turning slightly in the slot 1) to permit of the lateral movement of thelower end of the spring with the tool, the lower end of the springturning loosely upon the screw 0 as said tool is moved laterally oradjusted, after which the screw 0 is tightened, thus clamping the lowerend of the spring to the tool to fix and hold the tool I) in itsadjusted position.

The operation of my invention, as shown in the drawings, is as follows:Upon a downward movement of the awl-bar a and awl a to puncture the workfor a new stitch the tool-bar b is carried down, and with it the tool17, toward the seam, and if the feed of the sewing mechanism has beencorrect and has fed the work the length of a uniform or standard stitchthen the point of the tool I) will enter and locate the interval betweenthe last-completedand partially-formed stitch or between the twolast-completed stitches, accordingly as it has been adjusted, and willseparate or separate and indent the same; but should the Work have beenimproperly fed, resulting in a stitch varying in length from thestandard stitch, then the point of said tool I) will in its movementstoward the work contact with the shoulder or crown of such stitch andwill move laterally to one side or the other, accordingly as the stitchis longer or shorter than the standard stitch, and will automaticallylocate the interval between such varying length stitch and the nextadjacent completed or partially-formed stitch, as hereinbefore setforth. Upon the upward movement of the awl-bar a and awl a the toolbarI) and tool I) are lifted, and the spring 0 acts to return the point ofthe tool I) to its normal position, which operations are repeatedthroughout the formation of the stitches forming the seam in theparticular piece of work in hand.

I have described my present invention as it is applied to the machine ofthe patent to Cobb, No. 421,095, hereinbefore referred to, and indescribing the operation thereof I have employed terms descriptive ofthe operation of devices in said machine which impart to the awl andtool their movements toward and from the work; but I desire it to bedistinctly understood that my present invention is not limited to anyparticular shoe-sewing mechanism, nor to any specific means forimparting to the seam-finishing tool its movements toward and from thework, nor to the imparting of such movements to the tool by any portionof the stitch-forming devices, nor to the moving of said tool toward andfrom the work in any particular time relative to any portion of theshoe-sewing mechanism, and it is im material so far as the presentinvention is concerned whether the seam-finishing tool be arranged formovement from an upper position downward toward the Work, or from alower position upward toward the work the arrangement depending entirelyupon the operation of the particular style of shoe-sewing machine withwhich my improved seam-finishing tool shall be combined; neither do Iconsider my invention as limited to the exact construction andarrangement of devices shown and described for rendering theseamfinishing tool automatically adjustable to locate the intervalsbetween the stitches, whether said stitches be of uniform or varyinglength; but in so far as I am at present advised of the state of the artit is broadly a new to combine with shoe-sewing mechanism aseam-finishing tool which will automatically locate the intervalsbetween the stitches as such stitches are formed, whether said stitchesbe of uniform or varying length, and

I therefore claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of theUnited States-- 1. In a shoe-sewing and seam-finishing machine, thecombination with the stitch-form ing mechanism, of a seam-finishingtool, and means to permit said tool to automatically locate its point inthe intervals between the stitches, whether said stitches are of uniformor varying length, during the sewing operation, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a shoe-sewing and seam-finishing'machine, the combination with thestitch-forming mechanism, of a seam-finishing tool and means to permitthe point of said tool to move laterally varying distances toward andfrom the stitch-forming mechanism during the sewing operation, toautomatically locate the intervals between the stitches, substantiallyas described.

3. In a shoe-sewing and seam-finishing machine, the combination with thestitch-forming mechanism,of a seam-finishing tool,means to permit theworking end of said tool to move laterally toward and from thestitch-forming mechanism and a spring to return said tool to its normalposition, substantially as de scribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN B. HADAWAY.

Witnesses:

A. 0. ORNE, JOHN OoLLINs.

